Maryland teacher sentenced to jail for threats to students

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) — A sixth-grade teacher was sentenced yesterday to nine months in jail plus nine months of home detention for writing threatening notes to five students with messages such as “Tick Tock Tick Tock. Is it a bomb or is it a clock?”

Michelle J. Dohm, 42, of Thurmont, did not acknowledge guilt or remorse during the hearing but expressed sympathy to the victims’ families.

Dohm was convicted by a judge in April after agreeing to a statement of facts that included handwriting analysis and a microscopic comparison of fibers in postage stamps.

“She has consistently and emphatically denied guilt,” defense attorney Thomas C. Morrow said afterward.

Frederick County State’s Attorney J. Charles Smith said a mental health assessment had concluded that Dohm, a married mother of two, has a personality dysfunction. He said prosecutors theorized that she wrote the notes so she could get attention by offering sympathy and comfort to the victims’ families.

“She would run to the rescue or provide offers of help or assistance to the victims’ families, all the while being the person who created the controversy,” Mr. Smith said.

The Frederick County Board of Education will consider today an administration recommendation to fire Dohm, who has been on unpaid leave from Thurmont Middle School since her arrest in December 2005. Teachers who are convicted of crimes lose their professional certification and are no longer qualified to teach, school system attorney Jamie Cannon said.

Circuit Court Judge Julie Solt suspended the remainder of a 10-year sentence that will be imposed if Dohm fails to comply with terms of a five-year probationary period after her release. Judge Solt also ordered Dohm to undergo psychological counseling, avoid contact with the victims and their families, avoid sporting events in Thurmont and stay away from the school.

Dohm said in a December 2005 interview that the note’s author may have been someone who was jealous of the attention showered on a local Little League All-Star team in the summer of 2005. Four of the victims were members of the team, and one of the messages began: “Tick Tock Tick Tock. You play ball just like a rock.”